In Which Hook Is Not There But Regina Is
by neworldiscoverer
Summary: Scene rewrite for 2.01 when Emma is doing pull-ups below deck of the Jolly Roger. Because everything is better without Hook and Neal.- Regina stops her, waving her hand dismissively; regally. "Please, no need to stop on my account." Emma snorts and steps back up to the bar. She's pretty sure that Regina can't see her roll her eyes in the dim, patchy light. "Wouldn't think of it."


Regina's ears are still ringing. The pounding migraine she is nursing does not marry very well with the lurching of the Jolly Roger on the high sea. Perhaps she can find a dark and quiet place below deck and away from the Charmings' family reunion and that shady pirate.

After a little searching about, she found a small cabin space that looked like it was used to hold some of the pirate's personal knick-knacks and collectibles. Along the walls are benches that could easily double as beds, some with the wood exposed and others with a appropriate length of padding covering the base. Regina went to the back of the narrow room and sat on a cushioned bench. She closed her eyes.

Ah.

It is her first moment of real peace since the whole being kidnapped and tortured by electrocution incident. And the triggered trigger and magic conglomeration with Emma incident. And the chase after her son who was kidnapped and taken to another world incident that was still currently going on.

Regina feels weary down to her very bones.

She does not mean to fall asleep, but her headache lessens and the relief surges through her body, loosening tight muscles. She does not think she will sleep, with red rimmed eyes that spark behind closed eyelids. But, eventually, she does doze off, eased into sleep by the now gentle rocking of the ship.

That is, until the door swings open. The hinges creak and someone comes in. Regina sits up and looks down the width of the room, but the person does not come closer or approach.

The footsteps stop and it is quiet again, but no one goes out through the door again. Curious and also somewhat agitated at being disturbed, Regina gets to her feet, reaching up to steady herself on the edge of an overhead cabinet.

It has been a long time since she's been on a boat and her sea-legs have not yet come back to her. She is not worried; her body will adjust in time.

She hears a grunting sound, confirming that her mystery guest is still very much in the room and still unaware of her presence.

Regina clears her throat, a louder noise than she would ever make, as a precautionary sound. She does not intend to surprise whoever it is,even if they so rudely interrupted her nap. Regina strides to the front of the cabin space and does not try to muffle the sound of her own footsteps.

She really, really hoped that it was not one of the two idiots. She has a feeling that her headache will return twofold if she has to deal with them any more than what is unavoidable and absolutely necessary.

Rather than the idiots or even Rumple, the sight that greeted her was an Emma Swan with her blonde hair pulled back in a messy knot doing pull-up reps from the ceiling.

"What do you think you're doing?" It comes out a little sharper than originally intended, but the effect is the same.

Emma yelps and lets go, losing her balance and stumbling down right onto the floor on her ass. She rubs the back of her head where it knocked against a cabinet door and looks up at Regina from this position. "Jesus!" she swears, picking herself up.

She glances at the mayor's arched eyebrow. "What are _you_ doing, Regina?" And she can't help that her eyes flash and her temper flares.

She is on edge. Her son is missing.

Emma turns away brusquely from Regina.

But Regina's son is missing, too.

The realization prompts Storybrooke's sheriff to turn back towards the other woman and look apologetic, sorry all but bleeding out through emerald eyes.

Regina stops her, waving her hand dismissively; regally. "Please, no need to stop on my account."

Emma snorts and steps back up to the bar. She's pretty sure that Regina can't see her roll her eyes in the dim, patchy light. "Wouldn't think of it." She resumes her pull-ups, all the while feeling the brunette's eyes rake over her body.

Regina's voice comes from somewhere beside her now and there are not a lot of options for that considering the enclosed space they are sharing. "I was merely trying to get away from your charming parents and the Dark One," she drawled.

Emma can hear the lingering effect of sleep in Regina's voice and she lets her eyes glance to the left, seeing Regina sitting on the bench there, one leg crossed over the other.

"I hear ya," Emma pants, and feels a drop of sweat roll down her back between her shoulderblades. She wonders if this is the first time the other woman has gotten a moment to herself after... Well, after everything.

The thought makes her feel a little guilty, like she shouldn't be down here at all. Like she invaded the mayor's privacy, yet again. Sweat prickles her skin, goosebumps rising, and she shivers lightly. "I thought I'd come down and start getting ready for a fight."

Emma can practically feel judgment cloud the air.

"And this is how you prepare for a fight?"

Emma sets her weight back on her feet and rests her head against the side of her upraised arm, her breath coming out in short, hot puffs of air. "And how would you rather I prepare myself, Madame Mayor?" she asks.

The blonde readjusts her grip on the metal bar and goes back to the exercise, not waiting for an answer.

"I assume something more like sword fighting would be in order. It seems that our ship's captain would be more than happy to engage with you in some sparring." Regina's voice is biting and pointed, not that Emma can blame her.

Emma doesn't think she'd be able to last one round with Hook. And not because of his technique or her lack of it. She can only take so much lewd comments and suggestive smirks before they start to grate on her nerves. She had to wonder if there was more depth to the one-handed pirate than his often inappropriate, crass and poorly times lines. Emma didn't care to stick around him long enough to find out.

So she scoffed slightly and set her toes back down, and stepped back onto the floor.

Regina, of course, was not finished. "Or, you could be improving your magic skills. Now that, I'm sure would prove useful in a fight."

As much as Emma hated to agree, the queen did have a point there. She wiped her hands on the front of her jeans, meeting hazel eyes with her own gaze.

Well, out of the six of them aboard, only two could teach her magic and Emma was certainly not going to ask for help from Rumpelstiltskin, even if he was now Henry's other grandfather (gah, that was- well, Emma tried not to think about it any more than she absolutely had to), so...

"Re-" the blonde started.

The entire boat jerked and jolted with a loud crash and clang and both women hung on to whatever was nearby to keep from being thrown onto the floor and into the walls.

"What was that?!"


End file.
